title: The effects of diet form and feeder design on the growth performance of finishing pigs.
abstract: Two studies were conducted to determine the effects of diet form (meal vs. pellet) and feeder design (conventional dry vs. wet/dry) on finisher pig performance. Experiments were arranged as 2 × 2 factorials with 11 replications per treatment and 26 to 29 pigs per pen. In Exp. 1, pigs (n = 1,290; initial BW 46.8 kg) were used in a 91-d study. Pelleted diets averaged approximately 35% fines throughout the study. Overall, pigs fed pelleted diets or via wet/dry feeders had greater (P < 0.07 and 0.001, respectively) ADG than pigs fed meal diets or fed with a dry feeder. Diet form × feeder interactions (P < 0.02) were observed for G:F. Pigs fed either meal or pelleted diets via a wet/dry feeder had similar G:F, but pigs fed pelleted diets in dry feeders had poorer G:F than pigs with meal diets in dry feeders. In Exp. 2, pigs (n = 1,146; initial BW 38.2 kg) were used in a 104-d study. From d 0 to 28, a diet form × feeder design interaction (P < 0.01) was observed for ADG, which was due to decreased ADG in pigs fed pelleted diets from a conventional dry feeder compared with pigs fed meal diets from the same feeder type whereas there was no difference in wet/dry feeders based on diet form. Pigs fed pelleted diets had poorer (P < 0.01) G:F than pigs fed meal diets. This result appeared to be due to poor pellet quality (39.6% fines). From d 42 to 86, pellet quality improved (4.4% fines) and a diet form × feeder interaction was observed for ADG in which pigs fed meal diets in a dry feeder had decreased (P < 0.05) ADG than pigs fed pelleted diets in dry feeders or pigs presented either diet in wet/dry feeders. Pigs fed pelleted diets had improved (P < 0.001) G:F. Pigs fed via wet/dry feeders had increased (P < 0.03) ADFI and G:F compared with pigs fed via dry feeders. Overall, pigs fed with wet/dry feeders had increased (P < 0.02) ADG and ADFI and poorer G:F than pigs with dry feeders whereas pigs given pelleted diets had improved (P = 0.05) G:F compared with pigs presented meal diets. These studies found that pigs fed from wet/dry feeders had increased ADG and ADFI compared with pigs fed via dry feeders regardless of diet form. Additionally, pellet quality appeared to influence responses because pigs fed high-quality pellets via dry feeders had better growth performance than pigs fed meal diets. Conversely, if pellet quality was poor, the feed efficiency benefits associated with pelleting were lost.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences and Industry, College of Agriculture, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-0201, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Goodband
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Tokach
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Dritz
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: DeRouchey
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Nelssen
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis*; D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D011897:Random Allocation; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology